WASHINGTON – Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., has released the following statement in response to the announcement by FEMA Administrator David Paulison of the proposed membership of the National Advisory Council:
“In our Committee’s post-Katrina reform legislation that was signed into law last year, we called for a new FEMA that was less Washington-centric and more connected to the real work of preparing for disasters where they actually occur. One of our recommendations was the creation of a National Advisory Council that would advise FEMA’s Administrator on all aspects of emergency management. The Council will receive input from all of the players in disaster preparedness and response – state and local governments, the private sector, and other non-governmental organizations – for a unified effort. It is more than six months overdue, but it is a crucial step in making FEMA more effective in addressing disasters, whether they are natural or manmade.”
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